Scott Wykoff's Blog

Friday, January 6, 2012

A Legend In The Hallway

It really is amazing.

As a reporter at WBAL Radio I never know what the day will bring me when I show up for work. Anything is possible from breaking news to a news exclusive.

Take this day for example.

Walking out of the newsroom into the hallway outside the WBAL and 98 Rock studios I did a double-take. Is that who I thought it was sitting on the "green room" couch getting ready to join Mickey, Amelia and Spiegel? Upon further review, yes it was!

"If you've watched professional wrestling on TV or pay-per-view, seen it on a home video, or read about it in a book or magazine for the last 30 years, chances are you've seen something Jim Cornette did, heard something he said, or read something he wrote. For three decades, "James E." has been a fixture in the sport."

This is a guy who I thought was larger than life when I was young and still mesmerized by the whole pro wrestling thing.

I knew him as one of the crazy managers who would follow his wrestlers into the ring before each match and then stand there along the ropes screaming and ranting and raving about all that was going on both inside and outside the ring.

Jim Cornette got his start as a pro wrestling manager in Memphis in 1982. And now 30years later, the rest is history.

Jim made his way to the WBAL/98 Rock studios here on TV Hill to promote a weekend of Ring of Honor Wrestling at Du Burns Arena here in town.

Jim does it all for Ring of Honor (ROH).

Coming into ROH in 2003, he helped lead Jay & Mark Briscoe to their first ROH Tag Team Title, served as the ROH Commissioner during the ROH-CZW War of 2006, and made his return in the role of the Executive Producer at "Glory by Honor VIII: The Final Countdown" in the Fall of 2009.

Jim Cornette frequently serves as the voice of ROH management and the role of decision-maker often falls on his shoulders. Known for speaking his mind, Cornette has also shown he has no problem getting physically involved if backed into a corner.

That's Jim below in the green sports coat with the "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart.

If you think I was thrilled to see Jim Cornette at the station today, you should have seen how giddy Mickey was Jim walked into the 98 Rock studio for their interview ahead of the Ring of Honor weekend of wrestling at Du Burns Arena.

And how about WBAL's Casey Willett.

Casey is a huge fan of Jim Cornette and he too was waiting with me so he could get a photo with the legendary wrestling manager, promoter and announcer. After they took a photo, Casey and Jim started talking and telling stoties like they had known each other for years. How cool is that.

All of that said, minutes after I met Jim Cornette, I was off to work on a story and it was all just a memory as I looked forward to what the rest of the day would bring me as a reporter (and blogger) at WBAL Radio!